Odd as well. If he is physically struggling then why? Is it the heat? I still don't get that as Andy trains in Miami and so is well used to the heat and besides it is the same for both players and Lopez has had two tougher matches than Andy to get here playing a four and a quarter hour match two days ago whilst Andy has had an extra day off. Lopez breaks and will serve for the third set.

Well that was a nerve-mangler. I think Lopez ended up with more points than Andy, but Andy got the ones that mattered.

He seemed to hit a wall in that third set - maybe it was the heat and humidity? He wasn't chasing balls at all, and that is not like him. Then as the fourth set went on he seemed to perk up, maybe it got cooler as the day went on.

I hope the "Dodig" Andy turns up for the next match, not the "Bogomolov" or "Lopez" Andy. Though to be fair, Feli played extremely well.

But that last passing shot across the chest of Lopez was the winner ( in the previous point ) and gave Andy a little more momentum going into the Match Point.

Just how he got there is far more interesting than all the gains and losses in the previous sets. Lopez looking so strong in the tie breaks, but Andy managed to scrape through his own serves to put pressure on Lopez's normally accurate 1st serve to give him a chance to attack the Lopez second serve.

And in the end, that was all he needed.

A very close match that could well have gone into a 5th set, but Andy prevailed and that is now all history.

I don't think Andy really played that badly. His movement was very poor for whatever reason and credit Feliciano Lopez as that is the best I have ever seen him play. That is why it ended up being so close - Lopez brought a much-improved game to the table compared to a year ago.

Well BBC did quote him as saying he 'struggled physically' now I'd assume that was purely due to the heat and not an injury he is keeping under wraps ie the one that caused him to pull out of the last tournament. It makes me wonder whether there is as he also said: "It's the last major event of the year and you want to push through anything physically. I will be out here in the next match giving 100%."

Hopefully, he can sort whatever the issue is/was out and come out firing V Raonic. A day or two ago I was ultra-confident he will beat Raonic but now I am not so confident but do still expect him to win. Here's hoping it is an evening or night match away from the mid-day heat.

And after all's said and done, maybe Mark Petchey knows his onions and MTS1 was right to be wary of Lopez after listening to their opinions.

What I do know, is that Murray dipped precariously towards a total breakdown of confidence and mental strength during that match, but maintained quite a good level of both in the 4th set after coming back from that dire 3rd.

What he may well take away from that contest is the knowledge that he has the stamina...just...to keep going and going, even when then other guy just doesn't stop a relenting service game, time after time. He hung in there which tells a different story to one we have been used to in the past. But ever since that gruelling 5 setter against Djoko in the Aussie open, his belief must have been galvanised against such worries that he can last out in physical matches like that.

Raonic will test him further, as much as Lopez ? I don't know, can he serve any better than Feliciano, as that was as much perfect as one can do over 4 sets of marathon tennis.

Raonic has a far more potent serve than Lopez but I'd definitely say the Spaniard possesses a better all round game. As we know Murray is one of the best returners of serve in the game and he'll need it tomorrow. When rallies do develop Raonic is one-dimensional and will resort to the power of his booming forehand. If Murray brings his best to the court as does Raonic then Murray wins.

I really don't think Murray dipped too much. Put it this way he played better than he did against Bogomolov Jnr. His real fault was his loss of focus perhaps caused by trying to conserve energy once he had the break in the third set. Also Lopez excelled. I'd say that is one of the best matches I have ever seen him play hence why it was a lot closer. Lopez at his best and Murray decent but patchy and yet Murray still won.

I think he will, slams are not events where you can guarantee steady progress from match to match in an upward curve of improvement or peaking at ones best in the final, but most top players have mediocre matches or sets where they lose a bit of composure or whatever.

He's had one bad match, one bad set and one bad game in that set. Overall, he's on target as much as the scorelines go, so lets hope his bad games were all in the 1st week. He could get worse depending on the real reasons behind his lack of form in the 3rd and 4th set, but Lopez did push the limits with some stunning play, so I suppose we can be happy with the result of that match, he just needs to nurture more consistency on his serve which we know he possesses.

Oh yes he definitely needs to improve. Annabel Croft made a very good point post-match on Sky. She has seen most of Murray's matches and she can't recall seeing him have one match where he doesn't have a dip in form/focus. I'd agree with that and would say that explains why he ha never won a slam - in a nutshell. He can get to finals and semis in slams as dips against lesser players he can get away with but not with the Federer's, Nadal's and Djokovic's of this world.

I'm not too nervous about Andy playing Raonic. He reminds me of Isner, if the serve is not an ace, or very near to it, they are too tall to shift themselves around the court, which Andy is master of to get the points. Lopez was truly inspired against Andy last night and truly believed he could beat him. However he hasn't played him since last year and in that time Andy now mentally is similar to the top 3 in believing he is never beaten until the last ball is hit.